New way to lose money at Atlantic City's hard-luck casino

A bag of cash from New Jersey's Revel casino fell off a truck. (UNKNOWN, THE MORNING CALL)

Daniel Kelley, Of Reuters

Jersey casino finds new way to lose money

The soon-to-be-shuttered Revel Casino in Atlantic City had another bout of bad luck earlier this month when a bag of cash fell from an armored truck.

The incident, which came to light Wednesday, occurred on Aug. 6 when armed guards from GardaWorld went to Revel to retrieve cash. The Press of Atlantic City reported that one bag, containing about $20,000 in cash, was left on the roof.

Police reviewed surveillance video and saw that the bag was still on top of the truck when it stopped to pick up cash at another casino about six minutes later. It fell off sometime later, but police aren't sure where.

Joe Gavaghan, a spokesman for GardaWorld, said the company is cooperating with investigators, but that the company has a strict policy not to comment on investigations.

Lisa Johnson, a spokesperson for Revel, said GardaWorld is responsible for the lost cash and the casino would be reimbursed.

While losing $20,000 would be staggering for most gamblers, it is a drop in the bucket when compared to Revel's other losses.

The casino, completed just two years ago for $2.4 billion, has failed to generate enough business to stay open and filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in June. It loses about $2 million a week, according to bankruptcy documents.

Its hotel is scheduled to close Sept. 1. Gambling operations will be shuttered the next day.

The prospect of money falling off of a truck has a long history in popular imagination.

In May, a California man who was working in a parking lot as part of a drug rehabilitation program returned $125,000 that had fallen from an armored car.

In 1981, a Philadelphia man found $1.2 million that had fallen from an armored car. Joey Coyle, the unemployed longshoreman who found the cash, went on a spending spree, giving cash to friends and strangers alike. He was later acquitted of theft charges for reasons of temporary insanity.

His story was made into the 1993 film "Money for Nothing" where he was played by John Cusack, as well as the book "Finders Keepers."